The participation of women and girls in sports, physical fitness, and exercise has been recorded to have existed throughout history. However, participation rates and activities vary in accordance with nation, era, geography, and stage of economic development. While initially occurring informally, the modern era of organized sports did not begin to emerge either for women or men until the late industrial age.

The 1922 Women's Olympiad was the second international women's sports event, a 7-day multi-sport event organised by Alice Milliat and held on 15– April 23 1922 in Monte Carlo at the International Sporting Club of Monaco. The tournament was formally called "Deuxiéme Meeting International d'Éducation Physique Féminine". It was also the second of three Women's Olympiads or "Monte Carlo Games" held annually at the venue in Monaco, and the second forerunner of the quadrennial Women's World Games, organised in 1922–34 by the International Women's Sports Federation founded by Milliat in late 1921.